Cuba will not make concessions to its sovereignty and independence, nor negotiate its principles or accept the imposition of conditions

Havana’s anticipated next leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel, has refuted calls by Washington to change the island nation’s ways, declaring that “changes needed in Cuba will solely be carried out by the Cuban people,” in a stark rebuttal to US political and economic demands.

After stating his intention to step down in 2018, current Cuban President Raul Castro is expected to be replaced by the Caribbean island nation’s First Vice-President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Speaking on Sunday, Diaz-Canel unambiguously castigated the US for its heavy-handed economic, military and diplomatic tactics.

At a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the death of Argentinian revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, who participated in a Bolivian revolt that echoed the 1959 Cuban overthrow, Diaz-Canel reminded his listeners that “imperialism can never be trusted, not even a tiny bit, never.”

In an apparent response to US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the US embargo on Cuba would not be fully lifted until Havana adopts Washington’s version of Western democracy and capitalism, Diaz-Canel said, “Cuba will not make concessions to its sovereignty and independence, nor negotiate its principles or accept the imposition of conditions,”

“The changes needed in Cuba will solely be carried out by the Cuban people,” the popular 57-year-old politician added, cited by Reuters.

WITH NO DIRECT ELECTIONS FOR NATIONAL OFFICE IN CUBA, DIAZ-CANEL IS PROJECTED TO BE THE LIKELY APPOINTED REPLACEMENT TO ICONIC FIGURE FIDEL CASTRO’S YOUNGER BROTHER RAUL, NOW 86, AND WOULD MAKE THE RELATIVELY YOUNG LEADER THE FIRST CUBAN HEAD WITHOUT THE CASTRO NAME SINCE THE MID-20TH CENTURY.

The US president claimed in June that sanctions on Cuba would be ratcheted back up to pre-Obama levels while concurrently gutting the staff at the US embassy in Havana.

Trump’s administration has issued travel warnings to US citizens seeking to vacation in the once-popular island nation.

“Some unnamed officials are propagating unusual nonsense without any evidence, with the perverse aim of discrediting the impeccable reputation of our country as a safe destination for foreign visitors, including from the United States,” Diaz-Canel claimed.

It depends if we look at Trump the businessman or Trump the polititian. Trump is a successful businessman first so he will probably see Cuba in that light and realize that it is not in the interest of the U.S. firms that are currently involved there to reverse Obama’s policies. In fact, in 1998 Mr. Trump researched business opportunities in Cuba despite the restrictions of the embargo. So, the question is whether Trump the businessman or Trump the politician will prevail when it comes to Cuba policy.

As one recent article pointed out, “Since the normalization process began, a Miami-based cruise line has begun to sail to Cuban ports, U.S. telecom companies have established roaming agreements with Cuba, commercial airlines are flying from U.S. cities to Cuba, Marriott has entered into a joint venture to manage some Cuban hotels, and Cuba has become Airbnb’s fastest growing market.”

“A pharmaceutical joint venture is about to begin clinical trials in the United States, other U.S. companies are in various stages of trying to close deals with Cuba and travel to the island by Americans has greatly expanded.”

These ventures and expanded travel were all made possible by executive orders and regulatory changes since President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raúl Castro began a process of rapprochement on Dec. 17, 2014 and would be affected by any abrupt change in U.S. Cuba policy.

“Changing Cuba policy also would mean we are turning our backs on them,” said Carlos Gutierrez, who served as secretary of commerce under George W. Bush and has traveled to Cuba numerous times since the rapprochement began.

Trump would kill many deals if he reversed Obama’s policy. He won big in the Midwest farm states that want to sell agricultural products to Cuba and are pushing to have a financing prohibition lifted so their products will be more competitive.

Canceling out everything that Obama has done would not be a good thing; it wouldn’t be wise for American business as one businessman pointed out.